Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2011-002-003
Paul S. Lofton Jr. served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia from 1962 to 1964 as a milk tester on an agriculture project. He was enrolled in Duke University's Divinity School when he heard about the Peace Corps. After requesting a Spanish-speaking country, he was invited to join the Heifer Project in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Working for the Planta Industriale de Lieche (PIL), Lofton helped set up a milk testing program. He also taught an English class where he inadvertently caused the Bolivians imitate his southern accent. Lofton lived with two different families and notes that everyone had health problems. He played basketball on a team organized by Claude Wolfe, the Heifer Project representative, and traveled during his vacation times to Ecuador and Brazil. Lofton states that the Peace Corps was a good learning experience but he is not sure how much the volunteers actually helped the Bolivians. However, his service did change his life goals and he went on to become a university history professor. Interviewed and recorded by Sharleen Hirschi Simpson, June 23, 2009. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).